Minutes of the January 2018 meeting. PDF posted here.
CAMBRIA FOREST COMMITTEE
TO CONSERVE AND MANAGE THE NATIVE FOREST OF CAMBRIA
January 10, 2018, 6:30 PM
Cambria Rabobank, 1070 Main Street
A Quorum was established by attendance of Crosby and Laura Swartz, JoEllen Butler and Christine Heinrichs. Dan Turner, business manager for county Fire Safe Council, Kermit Johansson of PROS, and Harry Farmer, CCSD liaison, also attended.
Guest Speaker Sarah Bisbing, Ph.D, spoke on “Drought and disease shape demographic processes in endemic Monterey pine.” Over 60 people attended. Slides and notes to be posted separately.
Minutes of November Meeting approved as amended.
Treasurer’s Report: Laura Swartz reported that the balance is $1,601.97. $100 was paid to Dante Garcia for his translation of the Invasive Weed Guide into Spanish. Dr. Bisbing was paid $200 to defer expenses for her travel from Reno, Nevada.
Sub-Committee Reports
Education/Planting/Mitigation/Operations
Invasive Weed Guide Spanish Translation: The text is translated but the iNaturalist Guide is not yet done.
Forest Resources Mitigation Measure Letter: Crosby will write and circulate a draft for directors’ approval.
Display for Sandy’s Deli: The Forest Committee could provide a small version of the Forest interpretive sign. The Forest Committee, Greenspace and FFRP could work together to keep the showcase attractive.
Forest Management
Job Description for Forester / Forest Ecologist: Dan Turner said that finding a Registered Professional Forester is difficult. A RPF could consult and supervise a less qualified individual.
Cape Ivy Biological Control Update: The USDA study of the effect of the shoot-tip galling fly is being conducted in The Land Conservancy’s Lower SLO Creek Floodplain Preserve in San Luis Obispo. Tests have shown a 30-60% reduction of Cape Ivy stem length after a single generation. USDA researchers have released the fly in 10 locations in California, from Humboldt to Santa Barbara, after nearly two decades of extensive lab studies on its effect on native and agricultural plants and a peer-review permitting process. It could be a tool in controlling Cape Ivy, a serious invasive in Cambria.
Report from Fire Safe Focus Group — LHMP
CSD General Manager Jerry Gruber has asked Dan Turner to rework the grant application for a biomass cogenerator, to submit to the Cal Fire grant category Forest Health. Grant payments are done as reimbursements, so funding must be in place prior to receiving the grant. Phoenix Technologies has a biomass cogenerator being installed in North Fork, CA. Christine Heinrichs reported that All Power Labs has changed its business plan for its Powertainer. The company leases their equipment in exchange for part of the energy produced. The company representative was not confident that Cambria would be an appropriate location for its Powertainer. The Powertainer is not yet operational. The requirements of the grant used to produce it dictate that the first unit(s) be sited in Northern California.
FEMA has Hazard Mitigation grants available. Government units must be the applicants. CCSD and CCHD are planning to apply. Cambria could qualify for flood protection funds.
The Fire Safe Focus Group will hold its first of four community meetings on preparedness on January 31, 4-6 pm at the Vets Hall. Sandra Millers Younger, author of “The Fire Outside My Window,” which recounts her experience in San Diego’s 2003 Cedar Fire, is the speaker.
New Business
Director Liability Insurance: Forest Committee directors’ exposure is low, as the Forest Committee has no employees and owns no vehicles. Directors will check with their insurance agents to determine whether they are covered on their homeowners’ policies.
Unfinished Business
Comments on Coastal Commission Agenda Items: The Orellana appeal was scheduled, but since the meeting, Mr. Orellana has withdrawn his application. The Coastal Commission meets in Cambria February 7-9.
Send Agenda Items and Speaker suggestions to Crosby.
Meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm.
Next Meeting February 14, 2018
